The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 312

Chapter 312

Ellie _{freewēbnoveℓ.com}

I heard the creatures skittering through the darkness before I saw them . The dim light artifact I carried only lit up about ten feet around me, enough to walk without twisting my ankle but not enough to show me what was coming .

There were three, maybe four of them, and they were still at least fifty feet down the tunnel .

Cave rats .

We’d first discovered them when exploring the tunnels around the refuge . The beasts hadn’t posed much of a threat to the refugee shelter; in fact they’d proven really useful since we could eat them . They didn’t taste great, but without them, bringing enough protein into our refuge would have been a lot more difficult . Still, people had to be careful, because the cave rats could be dangerous for someone traveling on their own .

Thankfully, I had Boo with me, so I wasn’t too worried about one pack of cave rats .

The rodent-like mana beasts were about the size of wolves and moved in packs like wolves too . From what we could tell, they were the dominant predator in these tunnels, surviving off the smaller vermin .

I swung my bow off of my shoulder and drew the string, conjuring an arrow into it . Boo huffed, but we’d practiced this before . He would stay behind me, out of the line of fire, until the enemy got close, then I could fall back while he charged forward .

The scratching of the cave rats’ claws on the rough stone floor of the tunnel suddenly quickened, but I waited until I saw the first pair of eyes glowing red in the reflected light of my little lantern stone .

The string hummed as the beam of white light flew into the dark . A second arrow had been conjured and nocked by the time the first found its mark right between the lead rat’s eyes .

The beast tumbled end over end, just a shadow at the edge of my vision . My second arrow sped past it, thudding into another cave rat I couldn’t see yet .

The third beast sprinted past its dead companions, trundling heavily like a little bear, but it didn’t make it much closer before one of my arrows struck it in the joint between the neck and the shoulder . Its legs gave out and it slid forward on its chest, wheezing horribly .

I put it out of its misery with a final arrow through the skull .

The tunnel was silent except for the soft sound of my own breath and Boo’s deep snorting behind me .

“Sorry boy,” I said with a smirk . “I promise I’ll leave some for you next—”

Movement from above drew my attention: a fourth cave rat was using its hard claws to creep slowly across the tunnel ceiling . It was shrunken and mangy, its mottled black-and-gray fur sticking out wildly .

Moving slowly, I set my hand to the bowstring and began to draw back, but the creature reacted much more quickly than its dead companions . It dropped to the ground, spinning in the air to land on its gnarled little feet, then opened its grotesque mouth and hissed, spewing out a cloud of greenish gas .

I loosed my arrow, but the cave rat—if it even was a cave rat—leapt to the side, spun, and bolted down the hallway, quickly moving beyond the range of my faint light source .

Stumbling backwards to escape the fumes, I sent another arrow speeding down the tunnel after it, hoping to hit it blindly, but the arrow only impacted against stone and then fizzled out .

Boo roared and barreled past me, tearing through the dark after the strange cave rat, ready to tear it apart .

The tunnel smelled sweet and putrid, like rotting fruit, making my eyes run and my nose burn . I stepped back further and waited, a cold shiver running up my back . What the hell was that? I wondered, rubbing away the goosebumps that had appeared on my arms .

After less than a minute, Boo came lumbering back down the tunnel . From the absence of fresh blood on his muzzle, it was clear that he didn’t catch the creature . I didn’t like the idea of that creature hiding somewhere out of sight, clinging from the ceiling like a bat, watching me...I shivered again .

“Let’s get moving, Boo,” I said resting my hand on his thick, shaggy fur . Then, to reassure myself, I repeated the mantra that Helen had taught me: “Eyes up and bow steady . Never falter and always ready . ”

Moving quickly and quietly, I held my breath as I passed through the foul mist that still hung in the air . The dead cave rats lay in twisted lumps on the floor, and would soon enough draw more of them in from the surrounding tunnels . I’d have to be cautious on my way back to the underground town .

I looked at every jutting protrusion of rock on the ceiling and walls, and on two different occasions I shot an arrow at what turned out to be loose stones that had fallen from the roof, but in the dim edges of my light they had looked like cave rats lying in wait .

Each twist and turn of the path leading to Elder Rinia’s little cavern made my heart beat more and more as I crept around the blind corners, bow at the ready, waiting for the mangy beast to jump on me from above or breathe out its noxious fumes .

Finally, I saw the steady glow of the light artifact that hung over the crack in the wall that served as Elder Rinia’s door . Letting out a deep breath of relief, I realized that the burning in my nose had moved down into my throat and lungs, and that it was painful to breathe .

The gas...

Rushing forward, I slipped through the crack and burst into the small cavern that Elder Rinia had claimed as her home .

Boo grunted from behind me; he usually didn’t mind waiting out in the tunnel while I talked to Rinia, but he could sense my distress . I heard him pawing at the narrow opening behind me, as if he could claw his way through to help me .

The old seer was sitting in a wicker chair with her feet held to a weak little fire that burned within a natural alcove along the far wall of the cave .

She turned as I stumbled through her door, one brow raised . “Ellie, dear, what are you—” Elder Rinia stood up with surprising swiftness, peering at me with concern . “But what’s happened, little one?”

I tried to speak, but could only sputter . “I—I—c-can’t—”

The old seer was next to me in an instant, her rough fingers prodding at my neck, my lips, pushing me head back to peer into my nostrils, prying my mouth open to stare down my throat .

My panic only grew as Elder Rinia tsked,then rushed over to a tall cabinet that was pressed against the rough wall of the cave and began pushing aside the clutter of items within . “Where is it? Where isit!”

Then my breathing stopped being painful, because I stopped being able to breathe at all . I stumbled toward the old elf and fell to my knees, one hand raised toward her pleadingly . My lungs were on fire and it felt as if my eyes would burst from my skull .

“Hah!” Elder Rinia hooted from somewhere above me, though she sounded very far away . Then something shoved me roughly from the side and I toppled over, rolling onto my back .

A blurry face hovered over mine, and something cool was pressed against my lips . Thick, icy liquid filled my mouth and began to slide unaided down my throat, and it was like someone had cast a spell to freeze my insides solid .

The liquid, whatever it was, wriggled within my lungs and throat, but when I gasped, sucking in a lungful of frigid air, I was still able to breathe . The sensation of drowning in the slime was too much for my body, however, which immediately began to try and remove the cold ooze by forcing me to be sick .

Rolling over and pushing myself up on my hands and knees, I began to heave like a cat coughing up a hairball .

Bright blue sludge splattered against the ground between my hands, pooled thickly, congealed back together like patches of slime mold slithering across the stone, then shriveled, blackened, and was still .

I wiped spittle from my trembling lips and turned, horrified, to Elder Rinia .